Skip to main content
bobby pin

bobby pin

11 2.2
A small metal clip that holds hair in place
  • noun
  • /ˈbɑbi pɪn/
  • US
translation icon : horquilla
  • She used a bobby pin to secure her hair in place during the wedding.
  • secured with bobby pins
  • bobby pins and hair
  • bobby pins hold

And I definitely need more than one Bobby pin to pin this down, and that's OK.

Autoplay Next

Examples

Synonyms

hairpin
vsbobby pin
15 1.6

A small metal or plastic pin with two thin parts that holds hair in place

uses flattened prongs pressed tightly together rather than two separate prongs
barrette
vsbobby pin
12 7.5

A small clip that holds hair in place

is a plain flat wire fastener that holds hair by pressed prongs
grip
vsbobby pin
  • UK
2 8.7

A small metal hairpin that holds hair in place

is the more general term used outside that regional usage
hairgrip
vsbobby pin
  • UK
2.7

A small metal clip that holds hair in place

is the standard term for the same small flat wire pin
hair slide
vsbobby pin
3.2

A small decorative clip that holds hair in place

is a simple non hinged flat wire fastener that secures hair tightly
hair claw
vsbobby pin
2.5

A clip with teeth and a spring that holds hair in place

holds hair by pressed prongs rather than by teeth and a spring
hair clamp
vsbobby pin
2.5

A clip with two comb-like sides and a spring that holds hair in place

secures hair by close pressed prongs rather than by teeth or spring
pincurl clip
vsbobby pin
  • Specialized
6.6

A small metal piece that holds curled hair while styling

is a general fastening pin used across styles, not only for pin curls

How Long

hatpin
  • Archaic
1 8.3
safety pin
4 1.0
pin
153 1.0
hairpin
15 1.6
bobby pin
  • US
11 2.2

Surface Forms

bobby pin singular
bobby pins plural

Morphology

bobby + pin

The head 'pin' clearly signals a small fastening device, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer this is a kind of pin, but 'bobby' is etymologically opaque (a name or dialectal modifier) and does not transparently indicate the hair-related function. Because the object class is predictable but the specific sense 'hairpin' is not derivable from the parts, the expression is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Bobby pin comes from the short bob hairstyle and the small pin used to hold it. One popular story says that in the 1920s people called the small metal pin a 'bobby pin' because it kept the 'bob' in place, so today the term means a small pin for holding hair.